Report: Forrest Petz Replaces Jeff Joslin at UFC Fight Night 9

I had heard the rumors, and they now appear to be true: Forrest Petz (12-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) will replace an injured Jeff Joslin and fight Kuniyoshi Hironaka (10-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 9, according to Sherdog.com.

Joslin — as well as Frank Mir and Anthony Torres — were recent scratches from the April 5 event, which airs on Spike TV prior to the debut of The Ultimate Fighter 5.

The 31-year-old Petz, who first began fighting in 2003, made his UFC debut at UFC Fight Night 6 and defeated Sam Morgan by unanimous decision. It was a dominating performance that earned the Cleveland fighter winning scorecards of 30-27, 30-26 and an unheard-of 30-23.

In the next UFC Fight Night event, he lost to Marcus Davis with a first-round submission via guillotine choke (with just two seconds remaining in the round).

His upcoming opponent, a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Judo black belt, made his Octagon debut at UFC 64 and dropped a unanimous decision to Jon Fitch.

Hironaka elated some excitement in the switch from the very well-rounded Joslin to the striking-oriented Petz, saying that he was excited to have an opponent who would definitely rather strike with him, and that he hoped to show off his own striking abilities in the cage.

Hironaka, fighting out of Japan, is a Shooto veteran who scored a 2002 split-decision win over UFC veteran Nick Diaz.

For the full story, check out the Breen’s Sherdog.com column. (The “Koubousen Companion” column, which covers the Japanese fight scene, is consistently one of the best pieces of MMA journalism on the Web.)

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